Cristof Danzi, owner of Cristof's, talks about the impact Hurricane Irma had on his business and staff. They reopened on Wednesday after finally getting power back Tuesday night.
Amanda Inscore/news-press.com

Almost two weeks after Hurricane Irma, powerless and damaged restaurants are trying to figure out what's next.

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Isabel Romero and Toby Bonavit prep for Wednesday's lunch at Cristof's in Fort Myers. It was their first time serving since Hurricane Irma hit the area. The restaurant got its power back on Tuesday night.(Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press)Buy Photo

A line of FPL trucks had parked across the street from the Fort Myers restaurant she manages, Cristof’s on McGregor. She pulled over and spoke with a utility worker.

His words were music to her ears: “You should have power any minute now.”

She called owner Cristof Danzi, who dropped what he was doing and went straight to the restaurant. He checked on his barren walk-in cooler and freezer — both were chilling.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally.

Almost 10 days after Hurricane Irma pounded Southwest Florida, Cristof’s and its staff were seeing a glimmer of normality. That’s a long time for anyone to be without power, but for local restaurants, such downtime can be disastrous.

“I lost at least $20,000 in food,” Danzi said. “The cooler is too big to run on generators. I gave away boxes of steaks and prosciutto.

“I told my employees to just come around and do things and I'll pay them for it. The restaurant can’t pay them. There’s no money coming in. So, I will pay them from my own pocket, because this is a family and it’s the right thing to do.”

Irma dealt a serious blow to the state’s $41.7 billion restaurant industry, which employs more than 1.02 million people statewide, roughly 12 percent of Florida’s workforce.

The back patio and bar area of Cracklin' Jack's, a Naples business, sustained major damage from Hurricane Irma.(Photo: Kelli Krebs / Naples Daily News)

While most restaurants were back up and running in the early days following the storm, several remain closed due to damaged buildings and slow-to-return power.

In south Fort Myers, Harold's was without power for eight days and had some water damage, according to chef-owner Harold Balink. It plans to reopen Sept. 27, more than two weeks after Irma made landfall.

Naples restaurants such as The Dock at Crayton Cove suffered serious structural damages. Cracklin’ Jack’s in Golden Gate Estates lost half of its roof.

It’s unclear when or how either will be fixed.

“(W)hen you get a catastrophic event to an entire state, it stresses out all vendors,” Bill Strout said in an interview with Nation’s Restaurant News.

Strout is the president of Intrepid Direct Insurance, which specializes in providing insurance coverage to restaurants. “Contractors will probably come from all parts,” he continued. “It’s going to delay getting folks … back up and running.”

While Ford’s Garage’s locations in Fort Myers and Estero were unscathed by the hurricane, the chain’s Cape Coral store remains closed with no timeframe for reopening.

“The Cape Coral restaurant suffered some damage,” said Marc Brown, president of 23 Restaurant Services, the Tampa-based company that manages operations for Ford’s.

“We’re working with the insurance company and contractors to get things moving again, but it’s impossible to say when that will be.”

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Diners line the bar at Ford's Garage in Estero. That location was unharmed by Irma, though the Cape Coral store remains closed.(Photo: Ricardo Rolon / The News-Press)

Brown said they’re trying to find that location’s 70-some employees jobs at its other stores.

But in September, notoriously the slowest month for dining out in Lee and Collier counties, hospitality jobs are hard to come by.

According to 2015 data compiled for the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, visitors spent $1.12 billion from January to March of that year. That spending dropped to $700 million from April to June, and just $400 million from July to September.

Those out of work due to Irma can find temporary employment through CareerSource Southwest Florida which has received a National Dislocated Worker Grant designed to hire people to assist in cleanup and humanitarian aid following the hurricane.

“They keep money for this particular thing at the U.S. Department of Labor,” Joe Paterno, CareerSource Southwest Florida's executive director said in an interview earlier this week. “They allocate dollars to the state.”

Between 400 and 500 people are expected to be hired in a variety of positions, varying from manual labor to clerical and managerial roles.

Back at Cristof’s, Danzi said the restaurant has never been cleaner. He had his staff sweep and mop underneath and around all the booths and tables. They wiped down the baseboards, sterilized the kitchen from top to bottom, and even pulled out the air-conditioning vents for a thorough dusting.

“Most of these guys live paycheck to paycheck,” Danzi said. “They have families to support. They need work.”

Early Wednesday morning that work started in earnest, with the help of lights and hot water.

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Betty Parkinson puts away clean glasses in the bar at Cristof's in Fort Myers on Wednesday. She was happy to get back to work.(Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press)

Danzi hauled crates of eggs and butter in the back of his car. He restocked his coolers as best he could on his own, since his purveyors couldn’t make deliveries until later that day.

By mid-morning his cooks were in the kitchen, frying up fresh batches of potato chips while his servers wiped down wine glasses and restocked the bar with ice.

Cristof’s reopened at noon Wednesday with a full staff, a limited menu and plenty of cool air conditioning.

“We’ve been here every single day just waiting and watching,” Danzi said.

Local Target store remains closed

The Target in Market Square at the corner of U.S. 41 and Daniels Parkway in south Fort Myers remains closed after Hurricane Irma damaged parts of the store's roof.

The storm caused ceiling tiles to collapse along the south end of the store nearest Barnes & Noble.

"We don’t have a timeframe at this point, but I can tell you repairs are under way," Target spokeswoman Erika Winkels said Wednesday.

Winkels said the location at 13711 S. Tamiami Trail has about 160 employees displaced by the closure, but added that, "the majority have been able to find shifts at neighboring stores. That’s something we do in any disaster."

According to information on Target's corporate website, the Market Square store is the only location closed long-term due to Irma.